ecloga

Ecloga, also known as Eklogē in Greek, is the name given to a Byzantine legal code produced in the early medieval period. Traditionally dated to around 740 CE during the reign of Emperor Leo III the Isaurian and possibly revised by Constantine V, it stands as a concise digest of Roman law intended to replace the more extensive Theodosian Code and to reflect Christian governance and imperial authority. The work is written in Greek and circulated in manuscript form across the eastern Mediterranean.

The Ecloga reorganizes and simplifies older Roman legal material. It preserves core concepts such as civil and criminal provisions, property, contracts, and the administration of justice, but it presents them in a more compact structure and with fewer procedural complexities. The code is notable for adapting legal language to its Christianized imperial context, clarifying definitions, and emphasizing administrative practicality for local courts and officials. It aims to make the law more accessible while maintaining continuity with late antique legal traditions.

In its later reception, the Ecloga influenced Byzantine legal thought and contributed to the broader medieval legal culture of the Mediterranean. Although it did not supplant all other legal manuals, its ideas and terminology circulated in the Byzantine world and, through contact with Balkan and Slavic polities, helped shape subsequent regional legal developments to varying degrees. Today, the text survives in Greek manuscripts and in Latin translations, and modern scholarship treats it as an important example of how Roman law was adapted for Christian governance in the early medieval period.